shots
| Jack the Ripper PC review | |
| developer | Galilea Multimedia |
| publisher | The Adventure Company |
| author | Drew Carmody |
| date | May. 24, 2004 |
| graphics |   |
| sound | |
| gameplay | |
| value | |
| reviewer's toast | |
| overall | |
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| pros: Good story & voice acting, nice backgrounds and environment, creepy atmosphere, simple interface. | |
| cons: Little interactivity, character models look blocky and primitive, occasionally bad animation, can be buggy, VERY disappointing ending. | |
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The Basics
From the beginning, I will say that Jack the Ripper isn't so much a game as it is more of an interactive movie. However, even though the game doesn't have a lot of actual gameplay, the story that it does tell is a very good one that is very well done, for the most part. The setting is 1901 in New York City. You play as James Palmer, a reporter for New York Today. There have recently been a number of killings in New York's Low Side District, and your editor, tired of getting scooped by the competing Daily Illustrated, wants you to start writing stories about the killings. As you investigate each of the murders, all the clues that you uncover point to a terrifying conclusion. It seems as if the infamous Jack the Ripper, the man responsible for the grisly and still unsolved Whitechapel Murders in 1888 London is the one responsible for this sudden rash of killings in New York. To make matters worse, as you write your stories, the killer takes an interest in you and begins sending you taunting letters. Is Jack the Ripper responsible for the Low Side Killings? That's what you have to find out.
Gameplay: What's good, and what's NOT so good
As I said at the outset, there's very little interactivity in Jack the Ripper. All you really need to play the game is a mouse with two working buttons. You progress through the story by visiting various locations, primarily in New York's "Low-Side" District, talking to different people, and gathering clues as to who is committing these terrible crimes. This is accomplished by moving your mouse around certain areas, looking for objects, or for people to talk to. Usually, the mouse control is very smooth as you look around from a first-person perspective. There were certain times when I noticed a few issues with the control, but they were few and far in-between. While moving the cursor around the screen, pay attention to it. When the cursor changes, that means you can do something, such as move to a different part of the location, pick up and/or examine something, or talk to one of the other characters. There are also a few puzzles, but they are extremely simple. For the most part, if you just stop and think logically for a few minutes, you should have no trouble. Over the course of the game, you will come across many cliches; the demanding editor, the hard-bitten police chief, the plucky newsboy, and the hooker with a heart of gold. However, the story is so well done, and so well performed by the voice actors that you'll actually find yourself caring about what happens to some of them.
Ripper's strongest point is definitely its story. Jack the Ripper has always held a certain fascination, and has always been a fertile source for books, movies and games. However, instead of setting it in the old Whitechapel Murders in 1888, Galilea has crafted an all new Ripper story that manages to be very engaging. However, the story is also, oddly enough, one of the game's greatest weaknesses, or rather, the ending is. The ending is EXTREMELY disappointing. I won't spoil it for you, but considering how much time and effort is spent in getting there, most gamers will probably feel very cheated by it.
I also ran across a few bugs. In order to move forward in the story, you either have to write another story to bring a day to an end, or look at the sky (yes, free tip. If you're playing this game and you're stuck in one of the night scenes, try looking at the sky) to bring a night to an end. The thing is the game won't let you do this if you haven't done everything you were supposed to do on that day or night. The problem is, there were a couple of times where I had done everything there was to do (verified by a quick glance at an online strategy guide), and I still couldn't move forward. I found that closing out of the game and restarting from a save point worked to clear up the problem, but I did have to backtrack a bit, which was irritating. Plus, I freely admit that I'm a compulsive saver. Someone that doesn't feel the obsessive need to save after every major event like I do could find themselves frustrated to the point of quitting if they found they had to go back and repeat a big chunk of the game. The story's good, but it's not THAT good.